Who is Valerio Antonini? Despite the words of denial from Claudio Lotito, rumors continue to circulate about the possibility of a change of ownership at Lazio. The focus is directly on Valerio Antoniniowner of Trapani, who said he was ready to take over the Biancoceleste club, of which he is a fan, speaking about this hypothesis in an interview with Radio you are.
In fact, in the event of a decisive attack, Antonini would be ready to present Lotito with an offer. «Marriages always happen in twos and now there is an important president who has no intention of selling even in the face of high prices. We must understand that if Lazio is a club that today it is worth 500-600 million euros It’s also thanks to Lotito who alternated positive and negative years, but who still kept Lazio at a very high level, but he didn’t make the final leap in quality that people expect and in my opinion he lacked in communication , in relationships with people. This cold relationship with the fans is a bit the opposite of my way of acting. Let’s put it this way, it sold poorly. The economic evaluation of 500-600 million euros that I gave to Lazio? I studied it, I studied assets and balance sheets», commented Antonini.
But Antonini himself also admitted: «Today I don’t feel like I can be president of Lazio because I have no experience and as a Lazio fan I would feel so responsible that I would be afraid of making mistakes. Lotito knows the regulations, the League, the Federation and the institutions inside out. From a management point of view, as a manager he is absolutely a phenomenon. I need to grow up. I’m learning a lot of things that people don’t know about the background and how a football club works. It is clear that in a few years, even in the face of category growth, the interest that remains the same will always be the same and can be fueled by a sense of responsibility and knowledge that will take me to make an offer».
Who is Valerio Antonini – The purchase of Trapani in Serie D and a record season
But who is Valerio Antonini? Originally from Rome and a Lazio fan, 48 years old, Antonini is an entrepreneur in the global trade of agricultural raw materials. In 2020 he founded Quanton Commodites Ldt, English trading house specialized in international cereal trading. The company, as stated by Quanton itself, has a turnover of over 300 million euros, with over 1.7 million tonnes of agricultural products traded.
The entrepreneur purchased Trapani at the end of the 2022/23 season, taking over 70% of the Sicilian club that played in Serie D. In his first season as new owner (in 2023/24) he was promoted to the professionals, in Serie C, thanks to an important market that has brought high caliber players to Sicily such as Kragl, Palermo e Coconut. Trapani finished Group I of Serie D in first place, also reaching the Poule Scudetto final, losing against Campobasso, but were able to console themselves with promotion to Serie C and the conquest of the Serie D Cup.
But not just football, the Roman entrepreneur is also doing well with his basketball team. With the company he founded, the Sports Investin fact, he also dedicates himself to the management of Trapani Shark Basket. He is also the president of the city’s basketball team, registered in the Serie A2 championship, with the aim of relaunching the sport in Trapani in all respects.
